How to kick a fast food addiction?

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  • sloth3toes
    sloth3toes Posts: 2,212 Member
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    In for SuperSize.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    Some fast food does have addictive additives, if you have ever seen the documentary "Super Size Me" there is a scene where the guy , who's name escapes me right now, who has been eating McDonald's for a week or so at this point is going through minor withdrawal and only feels happy when he is eating McDonald's. Now this is not as serious of a form of addiction like drug use is but it is still a sign of addiction. Also it should be know that there are two forms of addiction psychological and physical. Most addictions are mostly if not all psychological where the brain feels like it needs something to make it happy, this is common with drugs like Coke, on the other hand opiates usually cause a physical addiction meaning that the drug causes the body to stop producing certain neurotransmitters. This can lead to a withdrawal that if can kill someone if they quit cold turkey.

    I suggest learning a bit more.
    About certain fast foods being an addiction or about addictions in general

    Addiction.
    That is sort of funny because my knowledge of addiction comes from an actual psychologist who diagnosed my cousin with a physiological addiction to Cocaine in which he overcame through rehab. Now because he was addicted to Cocaine an addiction that is psychological he was not given any Cocaine unlike the opiate addicts who were weaned off of there physical addiction because if they quit without doing so their physical dependency on the drug would of killed them

    Cocaine =/= opiates =/= food
  • KimiSteinbach
    KimiSteinbach Posts: 224 Member
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    We all have bad days. It's okay.. Just get back on track tomorrow!!!
  • bio_fit
    bio_fit Posts: 307 Member
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    Oh I don't know, high sodium is linked to high blood pressure, stomach cancer, problems with your kidneys to name a few. Two Bean Burrito's at Taco bell is over 2000 grams of Sodium

    2kg of sodium in two burritos?
  • Edelle111
    Edelle111 Posts: 4
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    Cold turkey + intense will power for about a week.

    That's just what I did. The first 2-3 days are the absolute hardest but your body adapts really quickly :)
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    Cold turkey + intense will power for about a week.

    That's just what I did. The first 2-3 days are the absolute hardest but your body adapts really quickly :)

    How many days sober...er, I mean, unarched are you?
  • Sunitagt
    Sunitagt Posts: 486 Member
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    OP, I used to have a big problem with fast food. There's a Carls Jr and a Del Taco right across the street from my apartment complex and it was just so easy to stop there every day after work. My excuse was always that I work late, no time to cook, hungry now etc etc, but they were just excuses.

    For weight loss/budget reasons my husband and I made the decision to only go out to a restaurant (which includes fast food locations) once a week, and we alternate who gets to choose. But it does come down to willpower in the end to not take the 'easy' way out and just go there more often. We keep quick-cooking foods available for late night dinners, like eggs and bagels, to make sure we have something to eat/snack on so we don't just stop at Carls or Del Taco because we feel lazy. We still do, but it is *much* less frequent, like maybe once in the last 4 months.
  • scarlettesong
    scarlettesong Posts: 108 Member
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    Someone already said it, but COOK COOK COOK!

    I have the best cookbook ever from my mother-in-law, and it shows me how to make anything. Roast turkey, orange chicken, burgers, cheesecake! I made orange chicken yesterday because my husband has been craving some Chinese food, and i wanted some fried chicken. It required me to make the sauce, batter and fry the chicken, and make the rice. Doing everything from scratch took 2 1/2 hours! (Part of that's my own inexperience with the recipe.) I got my fatty friend chicken in orange sauce, but I won't be making that very often!

    When you have to work harder to make the foods you love but are unhealthy, you'll eat them less often than if you just pop by the fast food restaurant on the corner.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,569 Member
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    Original Poster:

    Keep your head high. If you want someone who can speak from experience...it absolutely can be an addition. Scientifically proven, some fatty/high in carbohydrates can trigger a cocaine-like addiction in some people. I mean, there's even been research done pertaining to the out of control consumption of food related to the pain reduction centers which focus on the serotonin mechanisms in the brain. So all of you who are saying, "you're wrong for calling it an addiction", it very well may be. Take a peek and learn before you criticize or tell someone they're not calling it what it is - http://foodaddictioninstitute.org/scientific-research/physical-craving-and-food-addiction-a-scientific-review/.

    Next, OP, if you feel it's really out of control, I encourage you to see professional help. It doesn't mean anything is wrong with you...it just means that there is something going on with you that you need a bit of help with.

    If you don't think it's an actual...addiction per say...then maybe start by reducing the times you get fast food per week. Then you can start making healthier alternatives at home.

    Please add me as a friend. I've been there...I'm here to chat! Peace.
    I'll disagree with food being an addiction. Unlike other addictions, you need food to survive. And the link you provided FAR from verifies food being an addiction PROVEN.

    From the foodaddictionstitute:

    The problem here is obvious. We have a theory, i.e., “suspected” reason, but not yet empirical proof of the serotonin receptor causing physical craving and addiction. There is the need for similar animal and brain imaging studies as we have for the dopamine receptor. Basically, we can see the full scientific evidence for the dopamine addiction to the pleasure center of the brain, but we need further study to see how the clinical experience which would be explained by a serotonin addiction to the pain control center of the brain might actually work biochemically. Of course, the operative word in this last sentence is “might”; this too is speculative, not evidence-based, theory. Another possible (i.e., speculative) theory is that the malfunctioning of serotonin receptors of the brain is a part of the neurochemistry of emotional eating or psychologically-based eating disorders. This should be carefully distinguished from the changes in the dopamine receptors of the brain caused by their contact with addictive foods, i.e., an evidence-based theory of biochemical dependence on specific food(s) or food in general.

    http://foodaddictioninstitute.org/scientific-research/physical-craving-and-food-addiction-a-scientific-review/

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • Keep_The_Laughter
    Keep_The_Laughter Posts: 183 Member
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    OP, do yourself a favor and find recipes that are similar to the fast foods you enjoy. Cook them at home and exercise control over what is in your food. Eat the foods you like in quantities that fit your nutritional goals. Even if cooking is not your strong suit, most fast food items use basic techniques. You can put your own spin on some items you already enjoy. Best of luck in your journey.

    http://lifehacker.com/5665491/top-10-fast-food-recipes-you-can-make-at-home
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    I really wish people wouldn't use the word "addiction" so lightly. I really doubt you are addicted to fast food. Sure you make like it, you may crave it, but you are not addicted to it.

    ditto.

    it's mcdonalds, not heroin.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    OP, do yourself a favor and find recipes that are similar to the fast foods you enjoy. Cook them at home and exercise control over what is in your food. Eat the foods you like in quantities that fit your nutritional goals. Even if cooking is not your strong suit, most fast food items use basic techniques. You can put your own spin on some items you already enjoy. Best of luck in your journey.

    http://lifehacker.com/5665491/top-10-fast-food-recipes-you-can-make-at-home


    i did this. my favorite take out food is chinese sesame chicken. i kinda like my version better.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,962 Member
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    Omg...sorry for putting myself out there and asking for help. Sorry for using the word "addiction". I won't let it happen again.
    Yes the word addiction or toxic for that matter are taken literally for the simple reason of clarity. Most just want to change their habits and feel extreme measures need to be taken, and with anything extreme, it's very easy to criticize simply because any extreme measure is fraught with misguidance and a lack in knowledge. You don't have to eliminate all fast food because it's just food after all and when the majority of a diet is based on nutrient dense whole foods and minimally processed it really doesn't matter that you had a taco here and there and it's now that your feeling the effect of your extreme stance on the matter, and generally people will give up, feel defeated. Don't do that, have a taco if you feel the urge, work it into your diet and move on.
  • lururu
    lururu Posts: 123 Member
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    Fast food here in Wales is quite expensive, I think a 'McMeal' would cost the equivalent of around $8? That helps :P
    Much cheaper to eat at home!
  • Dugleik
    Dugleik Posts: 125
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    I try to recreate healthy versions of fast foods at home that I like and fit it into my calorie goals. For instance I used to be obsessed with Taco Bell but now I just make Taco's at home so I can portion what I am eating and use healthier ingredients. You can still eat fast food if you want but limit the intake with willpower and planning ahead of time.

    meat
    lettuce
    tomato
    sour cream
    taco shell
    shredded cheese

    i dont get it...whats unhealthy?

    Well for starters Taco Bell has a ridiculously high sodium count because all of the ingredients are pre-packaged and come in bags--- look behind the counter when they are refilling there vats.

    Um. What is wrong with high sodium? And what does a bag have to do with sodium?

    Most of the sodium would be from the meat.

    Also, just because you spit out the word "vats" does not make it OHNOES status.

    Oh I don't know, high sodium is linked to high blood pressure, stomach cancer, problems with your kidneys to name a few. Two Bean Burrito's at Taco bell is over 2000 grams of Sodium, if she has a problem with fast food eating this excess could be a problem hence why I said making it at home or limiting it could be useful I said vat because it's funny, someone needs to relax, I'm trying to help and your snarkiness is incredibly dull.

    Do you have some evidence to go with those statements?
  • Dugleik
    Dugleik Posts: 125
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    Some fast food does have addictive additives, if you have ever seen the documentary "Super Size Me" there is a scene where the guy , who's name escapes me right now, who has been eating McDonald's for a week or so at this point is going through minor withdrawal and only feels happy when he is eating McDonald's. Now this is not as serious of a form of addiction like drug use is but it is still a sign of addiction. Also it should be know that there are two forms of addiction psychological and physical. Most addictions are mostly if not all psychological where the brain feels like it needs something to make it happy, this is common with drugs like Coke, on the other hand opiates usually cause a physical addiction meaning that the drug causes the body to stop producing certain neurotransmitters. This can lead to a withdrawal that if can kill someone if they quit cold turkey.

    Super Size Me is BS. Spurlocks diet diary was painfully incomplete and no one have been able to replicate his results, and people have tried.
  • Jkn921
    Jkn921 Posts: 309 Member
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    I used to be addicted to it too, however when I tried eating healthier foods - vegetables and chicken - it was much more tastier and my energy levels rose without crashing down i.e. made me feel better. Try experimenting with new healthier foods that have nutritional value in them, start slowly and you may slowly get off the junk food. That's how it happened to me. My whole day is tiring if I have junk food so I limit it to when I'm not doing anything or am going to exercise later.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,070 Member
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    Not, sure, I did the opposite and embraced fast food. Now I am losing weight like crazy.

    This

    If you don't deprive yourself, you won't feel the need to splurge if you have fast food every now and again (fitted into your cals and macros).
  • sneaks
    sneaks Posts: 19
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    I reduced my intake after educating myself on the kinds of products they use. I'm not a vegan, or a vegetarian, but I like to consume meat that is organic and reared and killed in the kindest possible way. So I won't eat chicken from KFC because I know they only use chicken from intense farming, which use fattier birds, and treat them badly.

    Instead I buy organic and free range meats and make my own 'fakeaways' whenever possible. This has also reduced my meat consumption because organic and free range is expensive! I can easily pay £7 for two chicken breasts ($11-$12).

    I'd far rather make my own burgers from organic lean beef mince (ground?) than go to McDonalds and eat their 'beef' (i.e. all the bits you wouldn't feed your dog) that has been intensely farmed and cows fed a ton of stuff you don't want in your food chain.
  • girldownsouth
    girldownsouth Posts: 920 Member
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    For my lunch today I will be having red onion and balsamic cous cous with basil infused tuna, spinach, red and yellow cherry tomatoes, cucumber and black olives. I have already tracked it and have been looking forward to it since I chopped the veg last night

    However, after reading this thread, now I want a frikking big mac!

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